So let me come clean with everyone for just a moment.  I, Matt, have begun to play role playing games.  No, not talking about Harvest Moon, Pokemon, or any other video game out there.  I am talking about good old fashioned pen and paper games.

What too me so long?  I am 25, how did I never play these before?   Ok, so I think the main pushers of P&P RPGs are the players themselves.  After all, to get a game going you need a least one person running it and at least one person playing it.  Of course, it works better when there are more people playing.

First thoughts, why do people give RPGs such a stigma?  I’d like to think that it isn’t the actual playing itself that many people laugh at, but the content.  Dungeons and Dragons’ fantasy architecture is going to draw in only a subset of people that would possibly play a role playing game.  So what did we play?  Star Wars, who doesn’t love a little sci-fi and fantasy genre mix?

Why is it so difficult to start playing?  Well, I found that there are a few things you need to know in order to start playing an RPG.  You need to know people that you can play with.  If you are comfortable with making new friends, I am sure you can find a group online.  You also need to know the content.  In order to start playing Star Wars RPG, it really helps if you know something about the movies and/or books.  If you’re willing to do research, even better!  Learning the rules and sub-systems of the core game is tricky and can take several games before you find yourself able to play with out needing help.  Hopefully if you found a good group to play with they’ll be willing to help you start out.

What is the most important part to being successful and enjoying yourself when playing?  It’s knowing how to act and story tell.  If you’ve got these down pat, not only can you create a character with an interesting back-story but you’ll be able to use the info you’ve created to respond to situations as if you were that character.
To me acting is the hardest part of being a newbie to RPGs.  However, it is also the best part of the game!  After playing a few games with my friends, I found myself being drawn into my character’s persona.  If you can become skilled at this part, it won’t matter how well you actually end up doing.  Instead everyone will remember how awesome your character was.

So just remember, they don’t call it a role-playing game without due cause.  Get involved and you can be somebody famous, somebody funny, somebody brave or even somebody evil.  It all depends on you.

Now get on out there and game!